The present invention relates generally to wrap knitted fabrics and methods of producing such fabrics and, more particularly, to a warp knitted fabric having a satin-like technical back with a brushable pile technical face and a method of producing such fabric.
Traditionally and technically speaking, satin fabrics are produced by weaving warp and filling yarns in any of a variety of satin-weave patterns wherein the warp yarns extend in elongated floats at one fabric to predominate its surface while the filling yearns likewise extend in elongated floats at the opposite fabric face to predominate its surface. Thus, a satin provides a glossier appearance than other types of weaves and, accordingly, yearns of relatively bright lustre are commonly utilized in satin weaves to enhance this effect.
It is also possible to produce a satin-effect fabric by wrap knitting a set of lustrous warp yarns in a stitch pattern producing extended underlaps of the yarn at the technical back of the fabric. Thus, as will be understood, the extended underlaps of the yarn cause it to predominate the technical back of the fabric thereby producing a surface appearance simulative of a satin weave. As desired, another set of warp yarns may be knitted in a jersey, chain or other plain stitch pattern at the technical face of the fabric as a substrate or ground to provide structural integrity to the fabric.
Such warp knitted satin-like fabrics however suffer the disadvantage that, since the structure of knitted fabrics holds the satin-effect underlaps more loosely in the knitted fabric than in woven fabrics, the extended underlaps are highly subject to picking and snagging. Various attempts have been made in the past to overcome this problem. U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,738 disclosed one such proposal involving the use of twisted yarns to resist snagging. The effectiveness of this technique in eliminating such problem is unknown, but it is believed in any event that the use of twisted yarns would diminish the desired lustre of the satin face of the fabric. Another common technique is to knit another set of warp yarns of substantially lower denier than the satin-effect yarns at the technical back of the fabric in a chain or other plain stitch pattern to essentially tie down the underlaps to minimize their exposure to snagging and picking.
One particular form of woven satin fabric which has met with significant commercial success has a glossy satin face at one side of the fabric with the opposite side being brushed or napped to provide a plush velvet-like surface. Considerable effort has been expended in the warp knitting industry in attempts to produce a knitted fabric having both a satin-like face and an opposite brushable pile face providing comparable properties to such woven fabrics. Unfortunately, such attempts have not met with significant success. Specifically, warp knit stitch patterns which produce extended underlaps at the technical back of the fabric are unsuitable for forming a pile or plush surface at the technical face of the fabric. Attempts to incorporate a second set of overfed warp yarns in such fabrics to provide brushable or nappable pile loops at the technical face of the fabric disadvantageously tend to exacerbate the snagging problem apparently by causing the satin underlaps to become even more exposed at the fabric's technical back.